Najib wants SMEs to support Selangor takeover

PM dangles RM500 million carot to the mostly Malay SMEs in his quest to recapture the nation's most industrialised state.

SHAH ALAM: Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is calling on the predominantly Malay small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to support the ruling coalition’s effort to recapture Selangor, the country’s most industrialised state, in the upcoming polls.

He told a gathering of SMEs here that Barisan Nasional must be allowed to lead the state again if small businesses are to thrive, saying the Pakatan Rakyat administration’s preference for politics, at the expense of the community, have thwarted growth in the state.

“It is a shame that these people prefer to play politics more than caring about the welfare of the people,” he told some 500 participants at the Jom Niaga Selangor Chapter event here where he later announced the allocation of RM500 million to aid potential SMEs.

The BN chairman has often played on the same sentiment in his assault on the PKR-led government which has recently intensified as speculation is rife that he will call for national polls in these few months.

Najib, who is also the state’s Umno liaison chief, had made it his personal quest to see Selangor back in the hands of the ruling coalition.

While business is booming under the stewardship of PKR’s Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim, the prime minister said this was only made possible by all the “hardwork” of the previous BN governments.

He added that high per capita income of the state, a reflection of the state’s wealth and industrialisation, was the fruit of decades of strenous efforts to pull in investments into Selangor and could not be realistically achieved in a single-term.

Business BN

“But there are certain quarters who want to take credit over this,” he said to thunderous applause.

Malays make up majority of the SMEs which explains Najib’s extra effort to court the segment as admitted by the prime minister himself who told the gathering that he wanted to personally ask for their support in the upcoming elections.

Selangor holds the largest pool of urban constituencies predominantly made of non-Malay majority. They are known as ardent backers of Pakatan which is why BN is now betting on the support of the Malays to recapture the state.

Najib said backing a BN takeover of Selangor promises more financial help for SMEs with no “political interference”.

Control over key state laws meant the BN controlled-government would have no obstacle in approving projects to stimulate commercial growth he added.

Khalid and company, however, blamed the Putrajaya for all the allleged investment barriers raised through powerful and pervasive federal jurisdiction over key resources like water and education.

They claimed Putrajaya aims to squeeze the Pakatan administration through an economic chokehold, citing the ongoing legal battle over Selangor’s bid to buyover all the water concessions in the state as part of its cheap water programme, as proof.